“Why are you trying to help them?” she asked distrustfully. “I know it’s not from the goodness of your deadened heart.”
“Ouch,” Orin said and slapped his hands over his heart. “You wound me, milady.”
Lexi shot him a look; he returned it with a smug grin.
“Don’t screw with me,” she warned.
“Seriously, who got your panties in such a bunch? Was it my big brother, or did he get them off?”
A muscle twitched in her jaw, and red filled her vision. She adjusted her hold on the shovel as she prepared to bash him with it, but he threw up his hands and edged back.
“Easy, killer,” he murmured.
“I’m not in the mood, Orin.”
“Obviously, but I’m not here to fight. I’m here to find help for these innocent souls.”
“Why are you helping them?” she demanded.
“I’m not the hideous monster you think I am.”
“Oh, no?”
“No,” he said, and for the first time, there was no amusement in his gaze. “They need help, and I’m going to give it to them. Plus, the more fighters we have to stand against the Lord, the better chance we have of defeating him.”
“So, it’s not entirely from the goodness of your heart?” she asked sarcastically.
He didn’t respond.
“They’re not fighters,” she said.
She refrained from saying there was no way to beat the Lord as long as he had the dragons on his side, but she held her tongue. This day was depressing enough without adding more gloomy crap onto it.
“Not yet,” Orin said.
The little girl let out a small sniffle and whispered, “Mommy.”
The man holding her shushed her as he swayed her gently from side to side. At first, Lexi thought he was rocking to comfort her, but she realized he was doing it because he was about to fall over.
“We lost her mother yesterday,” Orin said.
Lexi winced and lowered her shovel.
“Are you going to turn them away?” Orin asked.
She scowled at him, but when she glanced back at the refugees, some of her anger deflated. Then she looked toward what remained of the marketplace.
Smoke no longer rose from the ashes, but the stench of fire lingered in the air. For over a week now, she’d felt utterly helpless as she brought food to the broken masses passing her property.
The Lord must be stopped; it wouldn’t be with this ragtag bunch of fugitives, but could she turn them away?
She glanced toward the manor, but she couldn’t see it through the trees. However, she knew her home was there. The manor and Sahira were all she had left in this world.
No, they weren’t all she had left. She also had herself, and how could she possibly live with herself if she turned these broken refugees away and the children died?
However, if she agreed to this, she was putting everyone and everything she loved at risk. What would her father think about her jeopardizing everything he worked to accomplish?
But she knew he wouldn’t have turned any of them away. Her father had presented a gruff, tough exterior to the world, but he’d been a big old softie at heart. He’d fought for the Lord, but he never would have approved of what that monster did to the human realm.
The war over the mortal realm had been waged, but it wasn’t over. Instead, a new war was beginning, and she had to choose a side.
But if she chose this side, it would pit her against Cole.
She immediately hated herself for thinking that. It didn’t matter if they ended up on opposite sides of this new war. He wasn’t coming back, and she had to accept that.
And even if he was coming back, this was her stance to take. No matter how much she cared for him, she wouldn’t let any man dictate where she stood in this world.
She had to get on with her life, and no matter what side Cole and her father chose, she had to do what she believed was best. And there was only one decision that would allow her to have any respect for herself for the rest of her life.
What about Sahira?
Guilt tugged at her. Her aunt couldn’t know about this; it would only put her in danger. If Lexi was caught, Sahira could truthfully plead that she hadn’t known anything about this. It might be enough to save her.
I’ll have to make sure I don’t get caught. She didn’t think it would be that simple, but she would do whatever it took to protect her aunt.
Knowing she was putting everything she loved at risk, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before saying. “I don’t have much food to spare.”
She opened her eyes to find Orin grinning at her. Her teeth ground back and forth as she glowered at the arrogant prick.
“I’ll help with feeding them,” he said.
“I can’t have you coming and going from the tunnels.”
“I’ll be careful and conceal myself in the shadows.”
She swallowed the lump rising in her throat. If she made this choice, she couldn’t turn back. She’d be putting her neck on the line for a bunch of strangers and a douchey fae as trustworthy as a crocodile with a toothache.
“Why are you really doing this?” she asked.
“The war against the Lord is taking on many forms. Undermining him every chance we get is only one of those forms.”
She suspected it was more than that, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe he might actually have a heart, even if it was a minuscule one.
“How many others are fighting on your side?” she asked.
“I can’t reveal that.”
“Will you reveal my tunnels to them?”
He hesitated before replying, “No. Your secret is safe with me.”
She shifted her hold on the shovel and lowered her forehead to rub it with one hand. He was probably lying to her, but putting her decision off was pointless, and standing out here only put them at a greater risk of exposure.
They both knew she wasn’t going to turn these poor fugitives away.
“Elexiandra.” She lifted her head to look at him. “I won’t tell anyone about these tunnels.”
“You’ve already told these people.”
He slipped a vial from inside his shirt pocket and held it before her. “It’s a forgetting potion. Once they’re safely ensconced inside, I’ll give it to them.”
She wished she’d had that to use on him.
“They’ll never remember how to get here,” he continued. “I will keep your secret safe because it benefits me to do so.”
And that was a truth she could count on. While the tunnels remained a secret, he would have a place to hide. Lowering her hands, she looked up at him.
“Were you planning on entering the tunnel no matter what?” she asked.
“You told me you were going to shut it off.”
“Don’t play your games with me; yes or no? Were you going to try to get into the tunnel without me?”
“Of course, but I don’t have to do that now, do I?”
Her teeth were going to be nubs if she didn’t stop grinding them. No matter what happened, when this was over, she was going to find a way to get back at this asshole for all the shit he’d put her through.
“I’ll hide them,” she bit out.
“I knew I could count on you,” he said with a wink.
Without realizing she intended to do it, her hand fisted and she swung at him. Her punch was so hard and fast that he didn’t have time to dodge it before it slammed into his nose. His head shot back, and his hands flew to his face.
“Fuck you!” she spat.
The fugitives all gasped and took a couple of steps away from her. She glared at Orin as he covered his nose and stared at her over the top of his fingers. She scented his blood on the air but couldn’t see it.
Though she’d begged him to teach her how to fight, her dad would only teach her how to punch. He said learning anything more was unladylike but did feel that she should know how to defend herself at least a little.
However, she’d never hit anyone out of anger before, and while she was still stunned by the action and her hand throbbed a little, she couldn’t deny it felt good. The bastard deserved it.
This time, she was the one who smiled smugly.
“Okay,” he muttered in a more nasally tone. “I’ll give you that one. But only that one. Don’t try it again.”
She almost asked him what would happen if she did try it again, but she decided not to test her luck by pushing him further. He may need her, but he was far more powerful, and he could hurt her.
“Do they know my name?” she asked in a low whisper that wouldn’t carry to the others.
“No.” Orin lowered his hands to reveal his swollen nose. He wiped away the trickle of blood seeping from one of his nostrils. “Your identity will remain hidden from them.”
“They’re on my land.”
“They don’t know that. We’ve been running so long that even the immortals have no idea where we are anymore. And the forgetting potion will erase any memories they might have of how they got here.”
She despised him, but she believed him when he promised her this. He needed her help, and he would keep her protected while that remained true. What would happen afterward, she didn’t know, but he could destroy her now, so it didn’t matter.
Lexi plastered on a smile and turned to the fugitives. She did not feel like smiling as her stomach churned and her mind spun with all the ramifications of her actions, but she couldn’t turn them away. She would never sleep again if she did.
“My name is Andi,” she said with false cheeriness.
When she was a young girl, her father would sometimes call her Andi in a cute little rhyming game he made up. She recalled sitting on his lap and giggling while he tickled her and sang, “Andi Pandy smells like pickles and candy.”
She pushed aside the grief that came with the memory as she continued speaking. “I’m going to help you.”
It may be the worst decision she ever made, but the second the words left her mouth, the helplessness she’d experienced since the destruction of the marketplace vanished. She’d chosen a different side than her father, but he would have been so proud of her for doing it.
“Please, follow me. I’ll take you somewhere safe,” she promised as she led them into the shed.